Since Lost wasn't on tonight

First, I'd like to call attention to the fact that I haven't written in months. I really don't have an excuses other than I'm not sure I had anything worth writing about. But tonight, I accomplished something and I felt like sharing.

If you don't know me then this will probably sound really random and maybe even a little insane. But for those of you who do know me, well, you'll understand! heehee

For the first time tonight, I went to a web site called iLikeâ?¢. It seems like a simple enough concept: have stuff people are interested in, and they'll stop by and check it out. They did. They put REM's soon to be released album up for anyone to listen to. No annoying announcers or sound bytes of advertising, and nothing was edited -- this was the complete album a full 5 days early.

Not since "Up" has one of their albums been this anticipated, and after listening, I can see why. This is their best stuff in years.

In an alternate reality, Bill Berry would still be in the band, the year would be 1998, and this album would be arriving on store shelves across America. It feels so natural as the follow-up to "New Adventures in Hi-Fi." The guitars are loud and prominent, and the drums are mixed forward. But if the similarity of this album to "New Adventures" is its raw sounding power, the difference lies in the lyrics. And the lyrics remind us all that it's not 1998 and things aren't what they were supposed to be. This is a different time and a sign of these times is the almost science fiction fear that surrounds and clouds. There is something in the delivery that strikes hard and with a conviction that's both believable and trustworthy. And in what might actually be just a tad too obvious, the song "sing for the submarine" reminds us that the future ahead of us draws heavily from the past behind us. The last track on this short but mezmorizing CD finally decrees "music will provide the light you cannot resist"

After listening to the entire 11 songs, I had an idea. How can I bridge the gap between tonight infront of my computer and Tuesday afternoon when I'm at the store buying the CD? Thanks to my 10 year old Powerbook G3, I got my answer. I booted into OS 9, and using an application called "sound edit 2," I was able to record each track in 16-bit, 44Hz stereo sound, and saving the files as WAVs. A file transfer between G3 and G4, and several minutes later, I have, in my hand, a copy of "Accelerate" :)

So, until next time, Good night!